Eddie Fisher, the '50s singing superstar whose crooning career was torpedoed by his involvement in perhaps the most-publicized sex scandal of the last century, died after suffering complications from recent hip surgery. He was 82.

"Late [Wednesday] evening, the world lost a true American icon," Fisher's family said in a statement. "He was an extraordinary talent and a true mensch [Yiddish for person of integrity]."

Father to Star Wars star and Postcards from the Edge author Carrie Fisher, among others, Edwin Jack Fisher died in his home in Berkeley, Calif. The family statement also read: "He was loved and will be missed by his four children: Carrie, Todd, Joely, and Tricia Leigh as well as his six grandchildren."